Ed Sheeran’s Gillette Stadium concerts scrapped as nor’easter bears down

Ed Sheeran’s shows at Gillette Stadium were canceled Friday, closing out a turbulent stretch of his Loop Tour with a decision driven by weather rather than the Palestinian-rights controversy that had dogged the singer for weeks.

The pop star’s Friday and Saturday night shows at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, were called off as a powerful nor’easter moved up the East Coast, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to New England. Tour promoter Messina Touring Group said in a statement that the decision followed consultation with local officials and was made with fans’ and staff’s safety as the top priority.

The cancellation caps a monthlong saga that began when rapper Macklemore, Mr. Sheeran’s opening act, was dropped from the tour after making pro-Palestinian statements onstage. Gillette Stadium is owned by billionaire Robert Kraft, whom Macklemore accused of pressuring Mr. Sheeran to have him removed. Mr. Kraft addressed the accusation in a statement, saying the rapper’s conduct and imagery had crossed a line the stadium could not host.

Mr. Sheeran addressed the fallout directly at a Saturday show in Philadelphia, telling the crowd from the stage, “I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician.” Video of the emotional address drew scrutiny after observers suggested he was reading from a teleprompter.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell had separately pressed Ticketmaster to allow refunds for the Gillette shows after her office fielded more than 170 complaints from fans unable to get their money back following the lineup changes. With Friday’s cancellation, that dispute is now moot: A representative for Mr. Kraft told TMZ refunds are available immediately at the point of purchase, and ticketholders who bought through Ticketmaster will be refunded automatically.